Forces of good

Dear Editor:

For the past thirty years I have been bemused by Jim Sawicki’s jeremiads against fellow Americans, but it even amazes me that he is now railing against “Christian, pacifist, liberal, local preachers.” About half the people on earth consider themselves Christians and I have read that there are perhaps 14,000 different denominations, sects and cults; everybody from Appalachia snake handlers to Greek Orthodox Catholics. No doubt Jim has studied these folks and groups in detail, but I have neither the desire nor ability to cope with such complexity.

I believe that most Christians consider the writings of the Apostle Paul to be of great significance. Paul’s letters are the earliest canonical writings in the New Testament, predating the synoptic gospels by several years.

Apparently, Jim is bothered by St. Paul’s advice as to not mess with Rome. The ancient Israelites would have done well to have heeded Paul’s advice; instead they decided to tangle with the Roman legions. Not smart. Jerusalem was sacked, the Temple thrown down and the survivors eventually committed suicide at Masada as recorded in the writings of the ancient historian Josephus. Of course, the unteachable learn nothing from history.

I watched the Boston Bomber episode with my brain filled with disgust, but also with eyes clouded with tears and a heart beating with pride. I was proud to see thousands of Americans behaving in the finest Christian tradition: heroic selfless acts to aid the unfortunate, law officers sacrificing their lives to protect the public, public officials, from top to bottom, behaving in a responsible, competent manner, and thousands of ordinary citizens, following the advice of St. Paul and cooperating with law enforcement to bring this tragedy to an end.

The bombers managed to inflict great harm on innocent people by their despicable, cowardly act, yet their action produced the exact opposite effect to what they intended. The world watched this drama of good and evil play out in real time on TV. The forces of good prevailed. While the unteachable can learn nothing from history, perhaps they can learn from live TV.